Put A Bird On It

Haha okay, that joke is a little old now, but I just discovered it and it's related so you'll just have to deal with it.

Today I went out to some fabric stores to search for a good upholstery pattern for my chair. I don't actually remember where I first acquired such a weird chair but when I moved into the basement I remember it being in my room. After a few years it got a little tight in with my new desk and ever growing "stuff" so it moved along to my aunt Kelly. 7 or so years later she's gotten sick of it and offered it back to me.

Being in the crafty, DIY mood I am in lately it was the perfect starter upholstery project. I was so anxious to start, I am already shopping for fabric before I have the chair in my possession (which I hope to rectify soon.) Upon my search at Fabricana I happened upon a pattern with birds, twigs and flowers on it. It looked like a pen and ink drawing, inked in brown on a light gray. Gray isn't in my colour scheme for my living room, but I hope to unite all my obscure colours with some pillows.

Not having made a concrete decision, I waddled home a little disappointed that a few yards of cotton weren't in my arms. Later on in the afternoon I started searching my favourite blog, Design Sponge, for chair fabric inspiration. I noticed a banner ad on the side for a designer website so I thought I'd take a peek and see if they had any good ideas.


Well look what I happened to find:

The EXACT fabric I had in mind for my chair. It's a bit busier than I was looking for, but I think it's just too pretty. And to be able to see it on a similar chair is helping push me to a final decision.

-Strawberry

Friday Friends: DIY Cameos

On one of my regular visits to the local thrift store I happened across two round wooden frames. They were old and uninteresting with their ugly yellowed victorian silhouettes. These weren't exactly attractive silhouettes either. I decided they would make a good art project so I took them home. Cameo silhouettes have always been a favourite of mine, and with the already existing shadows, it seemed fitting that I would just update them a little. Maybe add a personal touch!

  

I removed the hooks and sprayed a few coats of white over all the wood, even the paper in the center.

 

I took pictures of Kiwi and I and traced our silhouettes using Photoshop so I could use the digital file to print on any colour paper I wanted.

I printed out the silhouettes on a yellow that Kiwi picked, traced the circle template on the back and cut them out. Trimming here and there, I laid a layer of fabric glue down and placed the paper cameo circles in the center. After a bit of sliding around, the circles fit snug enough to hide my imperfect circle cuts.

A few nails near the door allow our personalized cameos to greet you as you come and go.

 

The silhouettes I created in Photoshop also served as the logo for our blog, with a few adjustments.

-Strawberry